Arizona’s reputation for spawning infamous
characters is long and legendary – from brazen outlaws to lady bandits
and self-promoting warriors, even corrupt politicians. Many of their
stories are embarrassing, some are inspiring, but all of them are
outrageously true.

Eight co-produced the show with True West magazine. Here’s a preview of some of the dozen featured vignettes:

• Goyathla: A Real Yawner – Learn the story behind
the famous Apache warrior Geronimo we never knew, from where he got his
name to his shameless self-promotion during captivity.

• George Warren: Drunken Loser Lands on State Seal –
Gambling away his one-ninth interest in Bisbee’s Copper Queen Mine,
Warren died penniless yet ended up on Arizona’s State Seal.

• Pearl Hart: Lady Bandit – America’s only known
female stagecoach robber was popular with suffragettes, then sent
packing by Arizona’s territorial governor with whom she possibly had a
fling.

• The Thieving 13th – One of Arizona’s strangest
legislatures dates back to 1885, unmatched for its corruption when
naming a territory capital, picking a university site and appropriating
funds for an asylum.

• The Legend of Red Ghost – After the U.S. Army
imported camels to test them as mounts, the Civil War spiked the
project, leaving one escaped feral camel to reportedly terrorize
Arizonans.

• Diltche: Frontier Woman – A White Mountain Apache
grandmother named Diltche captured and sold into slavery in Mexico
defied all odds to escape and through sheer determination return home.

• Tombstone: A Tony Town – Wine bars, coffee shops,
ice cold beer, telephones? Turns out the rugged Tombstone we thought we
knew had a sophisticated side even Doc Holliday and the Earps enjoyed.

“This unique show is a salute to Arizona’s well-known penchant for
attracting outlandish characters, and it premieres appropriately during
our state’s centennial year,” said Kelly McCullough, Eight's general
manager. “You can’t make this stuff up, and we didn’t have to.”

Host of "Outrageous Arizona" is Bob Boze Bell, executive editor ofTrue
West magazine and a prolific western history writer and illustrator.
Supporting each story will be photographic and illustrated images
provided from the archives of True West.

Also contributing to the production are popular Arizona personalities
Marshall Trimble and Jana Bommersbach. Trimble is the official Arizona
state historian and a sought-after speaker and entertainer throughout
the West, while Bommersbach is one of Arizona's most acclaimed
journalists and historical authors. Both are contributing editors for
True West magazine.

For more information, visit azpbs.org. Eight is a member-supported service and the public media enterprise of Arizona State University.

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